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November 29th 2025. Len’s Political Note #770 Susie Lee Nevada 03
2026 General Election
Susie Lee
And then there was one.
Nevada has three Democratic Members of Congress and one Republican. When the Democratic state legislature redistricted, the three Democrats all looked equally vulnerable. It was a gamble, of course. But it was a way of keeping three Members of Congress.
Only Dina Titus of Nevada 01 was angry. Here district changed to D+4. It seemed like sabotage to her. Steve Horsford’s Nevada 03 is D+5. And Susie Lee’s district is D+2.
Those two or three points seem to make a difference. She was elected in 2024 by about 10,000 votes — the ninth closest Democratic hold, the 15th closest Democratic Congressional victor. Count Susie Lee as vulnerable.
Susie Lee grew up in Canton, Ohio – one of Ohio’s many old, former industrial cities. Nowadays, Canton attracts tourists because it is the home of the football hall of fame. Even without the hall of fame, like in many old industrial cities throughout the country, sports were a possible way out.
Susie Kelly Lee swam her way out of Canton. One of eight children, her mom was at home, her dad was a steelworker laid off at age 57. Smart and athletic, Susie Kelly Lee was a swimmer in high school – a good enough swimmer and good enough student to make her attractive to an excellent college not that far from home. She went to Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and joined the swim team.
Susie Kelly Lee was not an All Star; not an Olympian. When she was recognized by Carnegie-Mellon as a Distinguished Alumna, the bio did not refer to her swimming at all. The bio noted she graduated from the Department of Social and Decision Science with a policy and management major. Her policy interest was water.
With her degree in hand, she moved to Massachusetts to work for a consulting firm. Presumably, as a consequence of her consulting, she was offered a job in the Las Vegas mayor’s office. Water issues are as central to Las Vegas as gambling and important enough so that Susie Kelly slipped right into the life of the city.
Active in the city’s social life she met Dan Lee, married him, and had two children with him. He was a figure in Las Vegas’s gambling industry, not so large a figure when she met him, but eventually the CEO of Full House Resorts.
The wife of a leading figure in Nevada’s biggest city, Susie Lee became an available volunteer. Personally aware of the connection between athletics and keeping kids in school, she founded and became the executive director of the After-School All-Stars, a sports and enrichment program for Title I students. She was also the founding director of Mobilized Assistance and Shelter for the Homeless (MASH) and the president of Communities in Schools (CIS) intended to prevent kids from dropping out of school.
Susie Lee also became a kind of official. She was a member of the School Superintendent’s Educational Opportunity Advisory Committee. She became a member of UNLV’s Education Committee Advisory Board. She was on the Clark County School Board’s English Language Learners Program Task Force and served on the Board of Directors of the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities to Support a Thriving Nevada.
Good works all. Good enough so that, in 2016, Susie Lee thought she might parlay her efforts into politics. She did not initially persuade Senator Harry Reid, the most powerful political figure in the state. Well-enough connected on her own, Susie Lee raised $1.5 million, almost as much as the $2 million raised by the Democrat who won the open Congressional seat. Susie Lee came in third with 19% of the vote.
2018 was different. Susie Lee had Harry Reid’s support to replace his absolute favorite, Jacky Rosen, the former President of Las Vegas’s largest Jewish Congregation. Jacky Rosen was extending her Reid-fueled political career from a single term as a Member of Congress to the US Senate. This time Susie Lee raised $5 million and defeated perpetual Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian, son of the legendary UNLV basketball coach.
In Congress, Susie Lee’s committee assignments have been aligned with her interests – Education and Labor and, eventually, the Committee on Natural Resources. With an eye to where crucial decisions are made, she eventually swapped out Education and Labor for the Appropriation Committee. She has been a member of the mainstream New Democratic Coalition and the more conservative (for a Democrat) bi-partisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
Now, Susie Lee is part of the Democratic Leadership in the House. Elected by her colleagues, she represents Democratic Members of Congress from battleground states. She is becoming a serious figure in the House.
Susie Lee did have one bump in the road during the pandemic. She was an advocate for financial protection for businesses during this public health crisis. When it was not clear whether gambling businesses were protected by the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program, Donald Trump, still in his first term at the time, solved the problem. He excluded gambling businesses from relief.
Susie Lee and the rest of the Nevada delegation went into overdrive to protect the industry which represented 25% of Nevada’s economy. The Small Business Administration announced coverage for gambling businesses as Trump quietly overturned his exclusion.
Once gambling businesses were covered, Susie Lee’s husband’s business was free to apply for PPP help. They got plenty of help and Susie Lee was criticized for benefitting from the ruling change that she had worked so hard to get done. Small potatoes these days when the President of the United States combines politics with his own business and Forbes reports he increased his net worth from $4.3 Billion to $7,3 Billion while in office in 2025.
In 2026, Susie Lee will have a primary opponent on her left – Cardiologist James Lally, who claims the incumbent is “obsessed with appeasing MAGA” and that “her bipartisan approach .. has only made things worse.”
Assuming that she wins her primary, she will face one of six candidates. The best funded of them is videogame composer Marty O’Donnell who reported $1.25 million available on September 30 some of which he will need to spend in the primary. Susie Lee reported having $1.7 million for her campaign
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball says the district leans Democratic. So does the Cook Political Report. And Inside Elections says that all three of the Democratic seats in Nevada lean Democratic. DONATE to Susie Lee’s campaign. Let’s be sure she wins.
Other Nevada races
Nevada 01. Dina Titus, an historian who came to Nevada to teach, wound up being a rare political figure in Nevada – independent of Senator Harry Reid. She had $600,000 available on September 30, State Senator Carrie Buck reported a little more than $100,000. DONATE to Dina Titus’s campaign. Discourage serious opposition.
Nevada 04. Steve Horsford, the most progressive member of the delegation is a former staffer in the culinary workers union and former state senator. He had $600,000 available on September 30. Of his two potential opponents, strongest financially is businessman Cody Whipple with $50,000 available on September 30. DONATE to Steve Horsford’s campaign. Discourage serious opposition.
Nevada Governor. Currently the state’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford came to Nevada with his wife. Credit his wife, Berna Rhodes, for Aaron Ford’s success. Credit him for her success. Aaron Ford taught school while she went to law school. Las Vegas’s top firms were interested in her. She practiced law and earned money while he was elected to the legislature. She raised their family including his nephew. Together, they overspent their income and had to scramble to address the problem they had created. He became the State Senate Minority Leader, then the Majority Leader before running for Attorney General and winning by 4,533 votes. As a legislator, he led efforts to require timely examination of rape kits, to require financial advisors to act as fiduciaries, and to create transparency in pharmaceutical prices. As Attorney General, he gained more than one billion dollars in settlements related to the opioid epidemic. He has criticized Republican governor and former sheriff Joe Lombardi for Lombardi’s support of Trump’s destruction of the US Department of Education, for describing Ford’s proposed model immigration statute as creating a sanctuary state, and for the governor’s veto of a bill to prevent price fixing. DONATE to Aaron Ford’s campaign. Mail a check to PO Box 96003, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193. See Len’s Political Note #745
Nevada Neighbors
Arizona
Governor. Incumbent Katie Hobbs, the first Democratic Governor since Janet Napolitano, an Obama Cabinet Member who was re-elected governor in 2006. Without a legislative majority, she has relied on executive orders to prevent state agencies, contractors, and subcontractors from discrimination based on sex or such characteristics as hair styles, the creation of a commission to oversee prisons, and the creation of a bipartisan elections commission. Particularly knowledgeable about election issues, she is a former Secretary of State. Katie Hobbs financial report showed she had $5.4 million available on September 30. Trump has endorsed two candidates against her: Congressman Andy Biggs who has a substantial lead in primary polls and who had $600,000 on September 30 and Businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson who had just under $1 million. DONATE to Katie Hobbs. Keep her in the governor’s office. See Len’s Political Note #712
Attorney General Kris Mayes was elected by a margin of 380 votes in 2026. As Attorney General, she opposed the merger of Krogers and Albertson, investigated possible misuse of public money by a County Attorney, indicted 18 people after an investigation of false electors on behalf of Donald Trump, and investigated whether Donald Trump threatened to murder Liz Cheney when he said “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay, let’s see how she feels about it. You know when the guns are trained on her face”. Kris Mayes reported having $1.5 million cash on hand on September 30. Of her two opponents, State Senate President Warren Peterson reported $1.1 million available on September 30 while frequent candidate Rodney Glassman had $2.8 million. DONATE to Kris Mayes campaign. Help her win by a larger majority this time. See Len’s Political Note #714
Secretary of State Democratic Incumbent Adrian Fontes may be the leading figure among Democratic Secretaries of State, for voting in Arizona has been a true battleground. He has raised over $500,000, well more than his Republican challenger state Rep. Alexander Kolodin who had $200,000 cash on hand.
Arizona Congressional Races
Arizona 01. I have identified nine Democrats running for this open Republican toss up seat. And I have identified six Republicans. We are going to have to wait.
Arizona 02. Former President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez reports $500,000 available on September 30. Incumbent Eli Crane, among the most extreme Republicans in the House reported $1.6 million. DONATE to Jonathan Nez’s campaign
Arizona 06 Former Drill Instructor JoAnna Mendoza has a real chance to flip a Republican seat. She reported $950,000 on hand September 30. Incumbent Republican Juan Ciscomani reported $2.4 million. DONATE to JoAnna Mendoza’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #762
Not a Neighbor – but make a last minute donation
Aftyn Behn
Tennesee 07. Republicans are making huge last minute donations to save the Republican candidate in the special election. State Rep Aftyn Behn could pull off a shocking win. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #758
